The punishment of the female imperial court

Yu Qiansi frowned and admired it in amazement.

"It's easy to understand that he needs to rest for half a month, as it's just to help the emperor get better. But the mountain is so high, does he really have to crawl up on his knees? Even if it's for self-torture to stop the world from talking nonsense, it's too tragic. I won't stop him from crawling on his knees, but I can't let the court officials suffer with him, right? The young master's body will definitely not be able to bear it."

"And more," Bo Yi was about to answer when Yu Qiansi asked, "Bleeding on the mountaintop? What kind of rules are these?"

Bo Yi thought about it and answered the question that she cared about most first.

"Don't worry about this. The so-called kneeling is just going up the mountain to worship."

The tombs of the Jiang family's ancestors are all on the mountain, scattered in order.

The mountain is high and the roads are dangerous, so it is not practical to climb the mountain on your knees. Therefore, since the reign of Emperor Ling, people have walked up the mountain and paid homage at the entrance of each imperial tomb.

"That's more like it," Yu Qiansi breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then found this kind of word game quite hilarious.

"I don't know whether I am fooling God or the devil!"

"Aru, be careful with your words." Bo Yi tried to stop her with a doting look on his face.

"Then how much blood should be let out?" Thinking of this, Yu Qiansi straightened up and asked curiously.

"You don't want him to die of excessive blood loss on the top of the mountain, do you?" Bo Yi felt a headache when he heard her hopeful tone: "It's just cutting his wrist and letting a few drops of blood flow into the crater."

"Oh," Yu Qiansi lost his curiosity instantly and shrank back into his chair: "Another way of fooling the gods and ghosts."

“That’s not the case.”

Perhaps this is the most central part of all rituals.

Bo Yi pondered for a moment and said, "The ancestors of the Jiang family believed in blood. Emperor Gaozu believed that human blood had special powers, so major sacrificial activities required the emperor to drink blood to show his respect."

Having said this, Bo Yi's bright dark eyes dimmed.

Identity and bloodline are shackles for him. As long as he is alive, this identity will bring endless disasters.

It is an existence that can never be escaped.

Seeing that he fell silent, Yu Qiansi knew what he was thinking.

Isn't she like this?

Bloodline is the most vicious curse in the world, imprisoning them.

At every moment of joy, they are reminded by the beating of their pulse that all this joy does not belong to them.

For Boyi, blood is even more cruel.

If his true identity were to be spread, even if Bo Yi died, someone would use this identity to cause unrest in the world.

If it was the Yu Qiansi of the past, she might have naively believed that Bo Yi was a man who would repay a favor, and that was why he tolerated the Feng family's actions. But now, she could see the most important reason why Bo Yi tolerated it -

The Feng family took control of Bo Yi's identity and forced Bo Yi to obey the Feng family.

If Bo Yi disagrees, the Feng family can make Bo Yi's identity public. Then even if he is unwilling, he will have to be involved in the game.

Sometimes, she really wished she was still the Yu Qiansi who sneered at the affairs of the court, at least she could think less and sleep more at night.

However, if she could think more, the young master would have to think less.

If the young master can get a good night's sleep, it will be of great help to his illness.

Thinking of this, Yu Qiansi put his hand on Bo Yi's hand, just as he had comforted himself before.

"None of this matters. After understanding their movements over the past half month, I know how to turn light into darkness."

The faint warmth from the palm of his hand was transferred to his. Bo Yi looked down at the two hands folded together, and remembered the time when he met the emperor. He had comforted her in this way in a desperate situation. The grief and helplessness in his heart instantly dissipated.

Bo Yi smiled in relief: "You really already know who is the 'An' now."

*
After another day of sacrifice, Lan Shu returned to his residence unsteadily, his feet weak and his face pale.

"Ah Shu, what's the situation?"

Lan Shu no longer had the strength to speak. He shook his head and suddenly felt dizzy and his limbs went numb. He leaned against the pillars of the porch and managed to stand.

"I'm sorry, uncles. I've been getting weaker these days. I can't catch up with him. I tried my best."

"Don't blame you," an old man sighed and patted Lan Shu on the shoulder. Several people helped him sit down.

"You have to attend to the sacrificial ceremonies every day, and the sun is scorching, so you are weaker than us. If he doesn't want to see us, you can't catch up with him even if you chase him as fast as you can."

Lan Shu felt distressed and bitter in his mouth: "Could this be the fate of the Lan family?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked towards an old man in grey who was sitting in meditation with his eyes closed in the hall. His hair and beard were completely white, and his face had a greyish tint. Although he did not say a word, an overwhelming aura emanated from his body.

Seeing the old man standing still, everyone became dejected, leaving only the occasional heavy and light breathing sounds in the hall.

"Could it be that even though we tried every possible way to lure him to the Imperial Mausoleum, we still can't do anything to him?!"

An old man in gray clothes beat his chest in anger: "If it weren't for my Lan family, how could the Jiang family sit on the throne? Now they want to use this kind of thing to control us! The Jiang family is really ungrateful! They sit on the throne in vain!"

The old man in the hall then slowly opened his eyes.

"The emperor has no offspring yet. Even if he has one, he cannot help the Lan family immediately. Even if you are dissatisfied, what can you do? Are you going to kill him for a moment of anger and let the entire Lan family be buried with him?"

"We have endured it for so many years, so many times. Several generations of the Lan family have endured it. What else can't we endure now?" He said, lifting up the corner of his robe and standing up. He walked to the window with his hands behind his back and looked at the green mountains in the distance. After a long time, he slowly sighed: "Remember, as long as you survive, there is hope for the Lan family!"

"Elder Lanfu is right." The man in the hall stammered and lowered his head, his shoulders slumped and his brows dropped, as if he had sunk into the dust, like the mud lingering in the cracks of the bluestone slabs when being swept.

Lan Shu looked around, the fire in his heart was boiling and wanted to burn his internal organs dry. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether the original pain or the current anger was greater.

"Lan Shu may have a plan. If the elders of the clan agree, it may be able to save the Lan clan from this desperate situation forever!"

Lan Fu turned around with a cold and pale face: "How dare you! Do you know——"

"Lan Shu naturally knows everything!" Lan Shu didn't know where he got the strength from, and said with all his strength: "Master has told us, Lan Shu should know more than the uncles now! Because of this, Lan Shu has to plan for our Lan family! If the emperor can do this once, he can do it thousands of times. We can't be so passive anymore!"

Only by taking the initiative can you have a chance of survival!
Lan Shu glanced at the people in the hall and saw that they were relaxed, which gave him more confidence. (End of this chapter)